Diamonds in the Rough
by not a fanfiction writer
Summary: Before gems were given assigned roles at Homeworld, each type of gem lived on separate planets with their own personal civilisations. Unfortunately, the once great Diamond Colony is nearly demolished by an unknown force and all that remains is four newly formed gems. Their story leads to the origins of Homeworld, their descent into dictatorship, and their forgotten past.
1. Prologue

_Oh, gems of might and towering heights_

 _Surrender to the light and songs above_

 _For centuries, your kind have stood with pride_

 _But now you shall be nothing but broken glass_

 _Surrender to the sound of voices_

 _And let your life shatter to pieces_

 _You may be strong, you may have power_

 _but the bigger you are, the harder you shall fall_

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 **Wow, look at that poorly done poetry. Eh, I tried. Just setting up the prologue for now. Just think of it as a trailer or something. I don't know, do whatever ya want. I'm too lazy to create the entire first chapter all in one setting, so please take this from my cold dead arms. This poem's actually kinda important, so...keep that in mind. Or don't. I can't tell you what to do.**


	2. A New Lonely World

_I'm alive._

 _I am a gem._

 _I am a diamond_

From the very start of the young gem's existence, those three thoughts were all she had buzzing and feeling inside of her mind. An intense and unquenchable desire to live and to understand the world she was formed in. Knowledge and know-how needed for the survival of any newly-formed being in her world surged in her head. Things such as personality traits, hopes and needs began to craft themselves into what would be her identity. Finally, the urge to climb out of her tight and concealing hole overtook her as her body shifted in an attempt to move for the very first time.

Slowly, her head rose above her tomb and her heavy eyelids struggled to open. Once they did, her vision was fuzzy. At first, everything was a coloured blur, but eventually, things got to adjust.

Above her was the dark yet silvery tinted sky with the brilliant glow of the stars that had reached the planet's atmosphere. The shine was accompanied by the vibrant light of what appeared to be a city made of dazzling luminescent crystals planted off into the distance, which had a gleam so powerful it was able to reach the rocky hill where the adolescent sat. The light was enough for her to wince and cover her sight with her hand upon instinct.

Immediately, she hesitated to focus on her own arm, as it was only now that she could piece together her own appearance. Her hand was a light silvery colour that matched her current surroundings. She stood out by being only a few shades darker than everything around her. If she were lighter, she would've undoubtedly camouflaged with her own planet.

She put her hands down on the rough ground to pull herself onto the steep hill. Her first attempt at standing up was a struggle, however, for the ground was slanted, making it difficult to get a proper footing with inexperienced legs. Her feet tried not to slip as her legs made an attempt to steady themselves. Once she was ready, she made her slow descent downward.

After her journey, she stood face to face with the shimmering city that had caught her eye from her old hole. At that point, her eyes had gotten used to the blinding shine of the crystals and she was at last able to stare at her home without any struggle. With careful yet intrigued steps, she passed by them and only then realised how much they towered over her. They were clearly meant to resemble buildings of some kind, as they had entrances, windows, and other such things. They were also graced with fabulous architecture. Either beside or in front of them would be railing that would form fancy spirals or pillars such shapes carefully carved into their sides.

When the small white gem's focus finally broke from the tall crystalline houses, she saw the unexpected dead ahead of her.

Enormous gem shards.

Huge pieces were scattered on the ground in a sharp dangerous mess. All of them came in various colours. Some were white, some were pink, and some were even black. Their diverse hues caught her attention with how they popped against the unpigmented landscape.

The gem softly gasped at the sight. Her hands clutched her agape mouth and her eyes widened til they were ready to fall from her face. She then moved even slower than before. The closer she got to the large field of supposed carnage, she became more and more gradual. It took some time before she came into arm's length with one of the pointed cuts that were big enough to be half of her size and when she was, she stared at them with great horror.

She was only moments into her life and there was only one thing she was greeted with; Death. Death seemed to surround her in that very moment of time. Fragments of the gemstones that held the souls, minds, and the very existence of what appeared to be at least thousands of living beings were piled together almost carelessly. Entire identities were smashed, crumbled, and left on the ground to lie around hopelessly.

She could only imagine their screams.

In an act of both curiosity and terror, she gently approached one of the sharp edges closest to her with a cautious finger. As expected, pain struck her quickly but hurtfully, almost as if her hand was being punished for such stupidity. A fast but very loud yelp arose from her.

"Ouch!"

The noise echoed through the empty city. Over and over, the sound of the yell played all over across the area, almost as if it would never end. The sound gave the gem a sharp pain in her head, likely because it was truly the first sound she had heard since her birth. Her hands placed themselves on the side of her face in an effort to block out her own cry of pain being sent back to her. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn the whole galaxy was punishing her for pricking herself.

Slowly, the noise died down and the planet went back to a strong silence. But with that silence came a horrible realisation. The gem waited with baited breath, expecting something. Anything. A response, a reply, or just anything, in general, to prove that her own voice had any effect. But nothing came. There were no signs of any life other than herself. Not a single living thing occupied her space. Absolutely no one was in sight. She was alone.

 _Alone?_

Her knees seemed to weaken and her chest felt sore.

 _I can't be alone._

She then quickly turned all around her. She tried to look in all directions for anyone other than herself. Just anyone that could prove that she wasn't the only conscious, thinking, or feeling piece of her world. Sadly, her actions led to no avail.

 _I'm all alone._

With eyes threatening to drench themselves in tears and a hand grabbing her chest fiercely, her body collapsed on the ground as she tried her best to accept her fate. Truly, it was the only thing she could do at that point. Alone she was and alone she would remain for the rest of eternity.

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 **Author's Note:**

 **Dumb babby gem, don't poke sharp things! Don't be stupid! Anyways, people are probably gonna complain to me about the heights of the diamonds in this fic (the main characters, not the species as a whole. All of the other diamonds were just as big as the mains are in the show), so I just want to get this out of the way right now. Because the diamonds a both newly formed and stuck in a place where they feel vulnerable and defenceless, their mental powers at the moment have them taking on a much younger and smaller form. Think of how the Crystal Gems seemed much younger in the backstory episodes due to their maturity levels. The diamonds are still pretty big for gems who feel young though. At this point in the story, their about as big as your average pearl. Don't worry, they get bigger as they go along. Not as humans would, of course, but along with their age mentality. So, there's that.**


End file.
